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A Look Back at 2015 in Technology

Posted on December 22, 2015December 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, Hackers, Siri, Tips

Every year there are new developments in the Technology world, and 2015 was no exception. Here are just a few:

VR Headset – At the CES 2015 show in January, no one expected Virtual Reality for the masses to be available this year. They were wrong! Announced in time for Black Friday, Oculus as released a headset that works exclusively with the Samsung Galaxy smartphone. More info here:

iWatch – Apple has been developing their watch since 2011 and it was finally available in the spring of this year. Reviews on the different tech sites that review these things have been mixed. Reviews by Amazon consumers are much higher.

Intel Skylake – Chris is pretty excited about the new 6th generation Intel Core Processor. He says it will run better on mobile technology. Do you know what the 1st generation was? Check out this article and astonish your geeky friends!

Tesla – Chris is also excited about the new Ludicrous upgrade to the Tesla Model S P90DL. Well, anything that takes you from zero to sixty in under three seconds has got to be worthy of some salivation! Here’s a link to DragTimes video.

Car Hacking – This was a big story this past spring. Computers in cars are pretty ubiquitous now and are just as susceptible to hacking as other computers are. The difference here is that car manufacturers don’t seem concerned and are not doing what they could to make their systems more secure. A previous blog about a report released by Senator Ed Markey has more information.

DieselGate – Earlier this year we found out that VW and Audi installed software on many of its 2009-2015 diesel models that would essential “cheat” emissions tests. From this NYTimes article “The software sensed when the car was being tested and then activated equipment that reduced emissions, United States officials said. But the software turned the equipment off during regular driving, increasing emissions far above legal limits, possibly to save fuel or to improve the car’s torque and acceleration.” There’s more info here: Late last month, VW announced their fix for the diesel engines. Automotive News describes the modifications that will need to be made here.

What do you were the most significant technology announcements in 2015? Share in the comments below!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

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How To Keep Your Online Presence Safe During the Holiday Season

Posted on December 15, 2015December 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Hackers, Passwords, Tips

With the holidays coming up, people are doing lots of online shopping. It is very important to keep your online presence safe! Last week I heard the Amazon website may have been hacked and user IDs and passwords may have been compromised.

Now is the time to change your password for all of your online accounts. Especially accounts where you have credit card or other financial information stored!

When you change your password, make it a STRONG password!

Use each type of character that the website allows. For example, some websites only allow you to use letters, capital letters, and numbers. Others allow you to use special characters like “@”, or “&”, or “#”. Always use the special characters unless the website doesn’t allow you to. One of the best ways to make a strong password is use a word that is familiar to you and change some of the letters. For example, you can change “a” to “A” or “@”. You can change “o” to “O” or “0”. An “s” can become “5” or “$”. You get the idea. It’s also important to use a long password. Most websites require eight characters, but you should use at least 16 characters wherever the website allows you to. Adding a date to your familiar word will add another eight characters to your password

Here are the steps to follow:

Use letters and capitals
Use numbers
Use special characters
Replace letters with capitals, numbers, and special characters
Make the password at least 16 characters long, or as long as the website will allow you

So a good strong password could be “1_lIk3-$un5ets_1215” instead of “Ilikesunsets”

When you change your password, make it a UNIQUE password!

Use a different password for each site. When you use the same password on multiple sites it makes it that much easier for hackers to get into your accounts on other sites as well. Each site where you have stored credit card information or other financial information should have a different and unique password. So, yes, you’ll need a different one for Amazon and eBay. And, you’ll need a different one for Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

What’s the best way to do this? Add two or more characters to your strong password to indicate which site it is for. For example, you could use “1_lIk3-$un5ets_F1d”, or “1_lIk3-$un5ets_eby”

Phishing is also a holiday issue!

Phishing is where someone tries to trick you into giving them your sensitive and private information. Generally, they’ll send you an email. (They might also call you on your phone.) They tell you that there is an issue with your Amazon or Charles Schwab account and you need to update your password immediately. The email looks legitimate and you are tempted to click on the “Log into your account now!” button. Even if it is a legitimate email, you should always go directly to the official website and log on from there.

Do you already use strong passwords? What tricks do you use? How do you remember them all? Share your tips with your fellow readers in the comments below!

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I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Patch Tuesday

Posted on December 7, 2015December 2, 2019 by Chris Eddy in Hackers, Malware, Microsoft, Patch Tuesday, Tips

A couple of years ago, when I started leaving my computer on all the time, I noticed that my computer would be turned off in the morning. Since I knew I hadn’t turned it off, I turned to the most likely culprit. I asked Chris why he had turned off my machine without letting me know so that I could save all of my stuff first!

That’s when he told me about Patch Tuesday. Microsoft has been sending out monthly updates, generally on the second Tuesday of each month, for a long time. They formalized this process in October 2003. According to this article:

“Microsoft has a pattern of releasing a larger number of updates in even-numbered months, and fewer in odd-numbered months.[7][8][9] Minor updates are also released outside Patch Tuesday. Daily updates consist of malware database refreshes for Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials. Sometimes there is an extraordinary Patch Tuesday, two weeks after the regular Patch Tuesday. Some updates could be released at any time.”

Although Microsoft has changed the name to “Update Tuesday”, the new name hasn’t gained wide acceptance in technical communities. The patches generally include code to update your Operating System to fix known bugs and to plug up any vulnerabilities from malware.

Most people notice a “Patch Wednesday” more than Patch Tuesday. Since the updates are generally installed overnight, you might be prompted to turn off your machine on Wednesday morning to finish the installation. And, occasionally you’ll experience glitches with your machine on Wednesday.

Patch Wednesday is also called “Crash Wednesday” since your computer is more likely to crash after the Patch Tuesday updates have been installed. We frequently hear from customers on “Patch Wednesday” who tell us that all of a sudden they can’t print, or their internet isn’t working. Lots of times the fix is as easy as turning off the machine and turning it back on again. But sometimes they need us to reinstall drivers or re-configure their router.

It’s also been called “Exploit Wednesday” since there have been times when the Microsoft patches have left machines more vulnerable to malware. In fact, a recent blog by UK engineer “Zeros & Ones” is a bit of a rant about the whole Patch Tuesday process.

“Security is not ‘my bag’ as such – but the people at Microsoft seem to be in a fantastic situation where security issues only arise on Tuesdays. How do they do they seem to manage to get the ‘bad man’ on side?”

If you’re interested in all the patches over the past ten years, check out this website, or this one for the past five years.

What do you think about Patch Tuesday? Share in the comments below!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

My Favorite Websites

Posted on December 1, 2015December 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Entertainment, Internet Searching, News, Tips

Several months ago, I blogged about Chris’ favorite websites. People keep asking me what mine are so here goes!

Searching:

For searching, I prefer Google over all the other search sites like Bing or Yahoo. I think it’s results are accurate – it finds what I am looking for, especially if I use the provided search tools, like Images, Video, Date, etc.

News Sites:

I’m a Jersey girl and grew up with the Sunday New York Times – every week! For a long time I didn’t like it because at my friend’s house, they had a newspaper with comics! But as I got older, I learned how to read and enjoy it. Now it’s my go-to website for what’s going on in the world.

I like the Huffington Post for its left-leaning news, and its separate pages for meditation, healthy living, and eastern religions.

I started following Mashable on Twitter ages ago. Now, the website is my go-to site for news that not everyone is writing about.

Other:

Call me weird, but I have a huge collection of books. I like LibraryThing because it helps me keep them organized. You can borrow and lend books with other LibraryThing members too.

Entertainment:

If I ever have a question about a movie, or an actress, or who was that guy in that TV show, I head over to IMdb.com, short for Internet Movie database.

Eagles:

In the spring, there are a couple of webcams pointed at eagle nests. I found it very relaxing to watch the mama and papa eagles tend the eggs and then the eaglets. There’s one from Minnesota, one from Georgia, and one from Pennsylvania. The webcams generally operate from February thru July.

What are your favorite websites? Let me know why!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

My 5 Favorite Weather Websites and Apps

Posted on November 24, 2015November 25, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Technology Tips, Weather

It’s that time of year when people start looking at the weather maps to see how their holiday travels will be. I’ve got a few favorites and will share them with you here.

NOAA – When you enter your city and state into the “Local Forecast” box, you can see just what is in store for your area. In addition, if there is a big storm coming, you’ll see a “Hazardous Weather Conditions” box across the top. I like the NOAA forecast because it is generally right on target. (Although they blew it with the last storm, predicting 10-14″ when we only got about 5″!) NOAA also has radar and satellite maps. By the way, NOAA stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is located right here in Boulder, Colorado!

Weather Underground – I just started using Weather Underground about a year ago. I like that I have several different weather stations to choose from in my town. In addition to the forecast, WU tells me what’s happening right now. When you click on the information from a particular station, you can also see if they have a webcam set up. Then you can see the snow and wind for yourself!

The Weather Channel – The Weather Channel has all the same information the other websites have. Because they consider themselves a news site, they’ve also got, what I can only call Weather Entertainment. Big Floods! Amazing Ancient Ruins! 20 Places Overrun by Animals! And More!! My favorite feature on the Weather Channel is their travel map found here. When you enter your starting place and destination, and the date you will be departing, the map calculates your route AND the expected weather.

NEXRAD – “Nexrad (Next-Generation Radar) is a network of 158 high-resolution Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service” This website shows the radar for the whole US, or just your state.

WeatherTalk – is a Facebook page I’ve recently found. Lyons Weather Analyst Greg Berman gained recognition when he accurately forecasted the extent of the rains and subsequent floods in September 2013. Just recently, he bucked the NOAA trend and called for zero to just a few inches of snow last week in Boulder County and said most of the snow would land south of Denver. He was right on both counts. If you’re on Facebook, I’d highly recommend this page to “Like” and bookmark. His forecasts include most of the Ft. Collins/Boulder/Denver Front Range area.

Some other apps I found while researching this post include Storm Shield Weather Radio and RadarScope.

Do you have a favorite website for weather forecasts? Share in the comments below!

When Were They Invented?

Posted on November 17, 2015December 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Computer History

Have you ever wondered when different components of the modern computer were invented? Me too!

Mouse – The mouse was invented in 1964 by Doug Engelbart in his research lab at Stanford. He had been looking for an accurate way to plot X-Y coordinates on the computer screen. He and his team went through several prototypes including one with a foot pedal, but settled on the small pointing device we use today. In Engelbarts words:

“Five or six of us were involved in these tests, but no one can remember who started calling it a mouse. I’m surprised the name stuck.
We also did a lot of experiments to see how many buttons the mouse should have. We tried as many as five. We settled on three. That’s all we could fit. Now the three-button mouse has become standard, except for the Mac.“

Keyboard – The keyboard is a natural extension of the typewriter. There’s a lovely write up of the history of the typewriter here: The typewriter was first invented in 1706 by Henry Mill. (There’s no proof that he ever built it, however.) Other models followed, but the typewriter, with a QWERTY keyboard, wasn’t commercially available until 1873. Little has changed since then, except making typewriters electric. The biggest difference between the typewriter of yesterday and the computer keyboard of today are the function keys.

Remote Control – Few things have encouraged the rise of the couch potato (pun intended!) as the remote! The first “remote” was developed by Zenith in 1950 and was called the “Lazy Bones“. It was “connected to the television by a wire. A wireless remote control, the “Flashmatic”, was developed in 1955 by Eugene Polley. It worked by shining a beam of light onto a photoelectric cell, but the cell did not distinguish between light from the remote and light from other sources. The Flashmatic also had to be pointed very precisely at the receiver in order to work.” The Universal Remote – a remote that would work with multiple devices – wasn’t invented until 1985!

Router – We probably wouldn’t have the network we have today if William Yeager hadn’t invented the router in 1981. It all started at Stanford:

“This project started for me in January of 1980, when essentially the boss said, ‘You’re our networking guy. Go do something to connect the computer science department, medical center and department of electrical engineering.”

History on even more gadgets are available here, here, and the flops are here.

Do you have a favorite history story about technology? Share in the comments below!

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I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Is It Time To Upgrade Your Smartphone?

Posted on November 10, 2015December 2, 2019 by Chris Eddy in SmartPhones

If it’s time for you to upgrade your SmartPhone, you might be wondering which one is best. There’s no secret that I’ve only used iPhones, starting with the very first iPhone all the way to my most recent upgrade to the 6S. I love the look and feel of them, and the way it integrates seamlessly with my music collection. (Yes, I buy CD’s. If it’s a local musician, I buy directly from them. Paying musicians for the music you listen to is the topic of a whole ‘nother discussion!)

But I know that the iPhone isn’t the only one out there. My brother, for instance, will probably never switch from his beloved Android. Some of the things you should look at when getting a new phone are:

Battery Life – How long will it last on a charge?
Price – How much do you want to spend?
Apps – Are the apps that you require available?
Size – How big is it? Do you want a smaller phone or a phablet?
Compatibility – Which phone do other family members have? Is it important to share cords and other peripherals?
Camera – Do you want a good camera? Camera resolution is measured in megapixals. For example, the iPhone 5 has 8 mp, the iPhone 6S has 12 mp.
Storage – How much storage do you want or need? If you have a large music or photo collection, you should choose the largest available.

Here are some descriptions of types of phones and reviews on what others think are the best SmartPhones and why:

Which SmartPhone do you use? What do you like or not like about it? Let us know in the comments below!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

How to Take the Headache Out of Asking for Computer Repair

Posted on November 3, 2015December 2, 2019 by Chris Eddy in anti-virus, Tips

Many people call in a panic about their computer. They’ve been living with something for awhile, but all of a sudden, it’s broken and they don’t know what to do. Now they’re in crisis mode and a little bit flustered.

Last week we got a call from a customer who wasn’t able to print. I asked a few questions to determine what the problem might be. With printers, it can be any number of problems. Sometimes when you get a new WiFi router, the printer stops working. Or, your Operating System gets updated overnight and now the printer won’t work. With this gentleman, it turns out that it stopped working months ago. He had no recollection of what happened before hand, just that it stopped working sometime during the summer. Now, he was taking a trip and needed to print the boarding pass … no later than tomorrow! Could we help?

You really don’t want to be in that position. So, what can you do differently?

Probably the most important thing to do is to get your computer serviced regularly. We recommend getting a tuneup once a year. During the tuneup, Chris will check for viruses, extra files, update your anti-virus, as well as any other things that might need to be completed.
During the year, if you start noticing a problem, grab a piece of paper and start a list. Remember to add the date.
Tape it to the side of your monitor, or another easily accessible place.
Every time you have another question or problem, write that down too.
Some of these you may be able to fix yourself, or get your nephew to fix the next time he’s visiting. If that’s the case, just cross them off!
When it’s time for your annual computer tuneup, or if something is really starting to bug you, give us a call and schedule your appointment.

What tips do you use to make sure you don’t forget about the little annoyances? Let us know in the comments below!

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I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

The Biggest Lie in the Computer Industry?

Posted on October 27, 2015December 2, 2019 by Chris Eddy in anti-virus, Apple, Hackers, Malware, Phishing, Tips, Virus

What’s the biggest lie in the Computer Industry? It’s the myth that Apple’s don’t get viruses.

Geek For Hire has been out there fixing computers since 2001 and we’ve seen just about everything. When someone tells me they have a Mac, or are switching from a PC to a Mac because Mac’s don’t get viruses, I have to respectfully disagree.

As early as 2012, Apple changed their stance about viruses on their machines. According to the Huffington Post, in June of that year, they changed their verbiage from:

“Safeguard your data. By doing nothing.”

To:

“Safety. Built right in.”

In the last few months, we’ve been seeing more and more viruses on Mac machines. Everything from lots of adware and pop-ups, to “a lady’s voice keeps telling me to run my virus scanner”, to what’s commonly being called “scare-ware”.

What’s out there?

Malware is the general term used for any malevolent or bad software that can get loaded onto your computer.
Spyware is software installed on your tech device without your knowledge or consent. It collects information about you and relays it to an external person or organization.
Adware is frequently called pop-ups. This is where you get lots and lots of pop-ups with advertisements. Lots of people just live with this type of infection not realizing that it’s often accompanied by other more malicious malware.
Virus is the most common term used by “real” people for all of these types of infections.
Scareware is similar to Adware in that it generates a pop-up. In this case though, the pop-up tells you that your machine has an infection and you need to visit a particular website RIGHT NOW to get the virus removed.

How to keep your computer safe? Be careful what you click on! Don’t open attachments in emails. Don’t click on ads on the websites you visit. Above all, make sure you select an anti-virus program that continually upgrades their software and pushes those changes to your computer. We recommend ESET’s NOD32 anti-virus protection for Mac’s and PC’s.

Did you think Apple machines were impervious to viruses and other malware? What steps do you take to keep your machine safe? Let us know in the comments below!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Reynolds Wrap

Posted on October 13, 2015December 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Privacy, SmartPhones, Tips

We’re not sure if we should file this under “scary” or “”weird coincidence”.

On Saturday Chris noticed that we were out of aluminum foil. We had a long conversation about it, revolving around his mom.

When she moved out to Colorado to live with us in 2001 she moved almost her whole house with the exception of some furniture. And she LOVED the deals at Costco! So, yes, her closets were full of supersized cases of paper dinner napkins, paper plates, plastic cups, laundry detergent, plastic wrap, AND aluminum foil. She insisted that she would still be needing all that, so we moved everything across the country from Long Island. I’ve slowly given much of the party goods away, although we still have a ton of plastic forks, but we always seemed to have a never ending supply of aluminum foil and plastic wrap.

When I went to get another roll from the garage, I noticed we were all out! We joked about not having any more foil from the Pathmark in Massapequa.

An hour later I was looking for something on Amazon and an ad for Reynolds Wrap was prominently displayed. Huh?! When was the last time you saw an add for Reynolds Wrap on your screen?

Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil, 200 Sq Ft

A year or so ago, I might have said it was just a strange coincidence. Today, I’m not so sure.

With all of the SmartPhones in the room at the time, one of them was bound to be listening.

There are two apps that I know of that could be listening. One, “Hey Siri”, had been turned off. The other, “OK Google”, I wasn’t sure about. Do you have these running in the background on your phone? Here’s how to turn them off:

Hey Siri is only available on the iPhone.

Click on “Settings”
Click on “General”
Click on “Siri”
Slide the green button next to “Allow ‘Hey Siri'” to turn it off

“OK Google” is available within the Google app on your SmartPhone. There are subtle differences in the instructions depending on whether you have an Android, iPhone, or Windows, but these are essentially the same steps each time.

Open the Google App
In the top left corner of the home screen, touch your photo
Touch Voice Search
Slide all of the blue buttons to the left to turn it off. (You can still speak your request to the Google app, but will need to tap the microphone icon first.)
Touch Done to Save

What are your thoughts about surveillance? How do you protect your privacy? Let me know your favorites in the comments below!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!